Saturday’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers preseason finale against the Buffalo Bills was a day rookie safety Shilo Sanders would presumably like to forget.
The middle son of Colorado head coach Deion Sanders and older brother of Cleveland Browns rookie quarterback Shedeur Sanders, Shilo played just 13 snaps against the Bills, recording one tackle and allowing one reception on one target for eight yards in coverage, per Pro Football Focus, before getting ejected for punching Bills tight end Zach Davidson.
It’s not known what set Shilo off, but video replayed indicated his frustration came because of excessive blocking on Davidson’s part — he continued to push Shilo toward the end zone well after the play had ended.
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Buccaneers rookie DB Shilo Sanders was ejected for throwing a punch at Bills TE Zach Davidson. pic.twitter.com/OY7vSA8u3x
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) August 24, 2025
Though Shilo seemed to be goaded into the physical altercation, Bucs head coach Todd Bowles reprimanded him to reporters after the game.
“You can’t throw punches in this league,” Bowles said. “That’s inexcusable. They’re going to get you every time. Gotta grow from that.”
Saturday’s ejection was the least of Shilo’s concerns on Sunday after it was announced the 25-year-old safety had been released by the Bucs, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, who also noted that Sanders’ agent Drew Rosenhaus seemingly sent an urgent message to the other 31 teams regarding his client’s NFL future.
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“Buccaneers informed rookie safety Shilo Sanders today that he is being waived, per his agents Drew Rosenhaus and Robert Bailey, who added, ‘we’re hoping he gets claimed on waivers,’” Schefter wrote on X.
Given his solid showing in the preseason—83 defensive snaps, 46 coverage snaps, four tackles, one QB pressure, one reception for eight yards allowed in coverage—there’s a decent chance a team needing secondary help picks Shilo up in a backup safety/special teams role.
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The Carolina Panthers, Cincinnati Bengals, Minnesota Vikings, and New England Patriots could be interested suitors given their needs for secondary depth.
In two seasons at Colorado, Shilo posted 137 tackles, five passes defensed, five forced fumbles, three fumble recoveries, three tackles for loss, one sack, one interception, and one interception returned for touchdown.
He signed with Tampa Bay as undrafted free agent back in April.
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